Tag: Australia vs South Africa 3rd Test

SYDNEY: Usman Khawaja said it would be “harsh” if he was denied the chance of claiming his first Test double century by a declaration in Australia’s third Test against South Africa.

The entire third day’s play was washed out by rain in Sydney on Friday in the final Test of what has been a one-sided series in favour of the hosts.

Australia skipper Pat Cummins now has a decision to make ahead of Saturday’s fourth day: whether to declare the team’s first-innings at 475-4 and get the Proteas in to bat or give Khawaja the chance to bring up a landmark double century.

Khawaja is stranded on 195. Matt Renshaw, who tested positive for Covid at the start of the match, is five not out.

“I think it’d be pretty harsh if he (Cummins) bowled straight away. I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Khawaja told reporters after another frustrating day in the rain-hit match at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

“He’s been making a few jokes… (saying) ‘I’ve let (South African skipper) Dean Elgar know that we want to go out and have a bowl straight away’.

“We could go out there and get a few more runs really quickly or we could declare pretty much straight away. I’m not the captain… I don’t make those decisions,” said the batsman.

Another deciding factor for Cummins will be the state of the SCG pitch following three days of rain interruptions.

The frequent rain and covering of the wicket has prevented the pitch from drying out and deteriorating from wear and tear for the benefit of Australia’s two selected spinners, Nathan Lyon and Ashton Agar.

Australia have gone into the match with only two selected front-line pacemen – Josh Hazlewood and Cummins — making their task even more difficult if the pitch is not as conducive to spin as the hosts had hoped.

Australia are pushing for a series whitewash to seal a place in the World Test Championship final in London in June.

“Time is the enemy. A result is very unlikely, let’s be honest, but it’s still possible,” Khawaja said.

South Africa are naturally not as concerned about the weather as they try to avoid the ignominy of a 3-0 drubbing.

The forecast is for improved conditions on Saturday with less rain expected, before sunny conditions on Sunday’s final day.

Australia are 2-0 up in the series after winning the opening Test by a six-wicket rout in Brisbane inside two days and then hammering the Proteas by an innings and 182 runs in Melbourne.

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SYDNEY: An imperious Usman Khawaja was on the verge of a double century when rain interrupted Australia’s run plunder against South Africa in the third Test on Thursday in Sydney. 

In another dominant day for the hosts, Khawaja peeled off an unbeaten 195 for his highest Test score while Steven Smith passed a Don Bradman landmark with his 30th hundred.

At the rain-enforced close on day two, Australia were 475-4 with Matt Renshaw — who tested positive for Covid at the start of the match — five not out.

Australia are 2-0 up in the series and chasing a clean sweep.

Khawaja and Smith shared in a 209-run stand and Travis Head rammed home the initiative with a blistering 59-ball 70 to leave the visitors yet again facing an uphill task.

The red-hot Khawaja surpassed his previous highest score of 174, made against New Zealand in Brisbane in 2015.

Smith more than played his part, passing Bradman’s 29 Test tons with a majestic pullshot off Anrich Nortje to the boundary ropes to claim a hometown hundred off 190 balls.

He was out two balls later for 104 when he innocuously chipped back a catch to Keshav Maharaj for the left-arm spinner’s first wicket of the series.

Along the way Smith also overtook Michael Clarke to become Australia’s fourth-highest Test run-getter with 8,647, behind Ricky Ponting, Allan Border and Steve Waugh.

Only Ponting (41) and Waugh (32) have scored more Test centuries for Australia than Smith, who is second only to the immortal Bradman (99.94) with a current Test average of 60.89 in his 92nd Test match.

“I don’t think about that stuff a great deal but I did look up at the scoreboard just after I got 100… and there are some pretty big names there, so that’s pretty cool,” Smith said.

“I think there is starting to get a little bit more rough. That’s certainly positive signs for us. The rougher and more abrasive that surface gets, the more you’ll probably see reverse swing come into play as well.”

Home comforts for Khawaja

Khawaja relentlessly accumulated on his third consecutive Sydney Test hundred and when rain ended play with 14 overs left he had faced 368 balls, with 19 fours and a six.

Before lunch, Khawaja danced a celebratory jig after clipping Kagiso Rabada for two through deep square to bring up another hundred at Sydney Cricket Ground.

It followed twin centuries against England in last year’s corresponding Sydney Test.

“I grew up here just up the road and my family is here watching, I have friends out in the crowd, it’s always an honour to score runs here,” said Khawaja.

Only England’s Wally Hammond, Australian Doug Walters and India’s VVS Laxman have scored three consecutive Test centuries at the famous SCG.

Head hit another typical rumbustious half-century before he was brilliantly caught on the ropes by substitute fielder Rassie van der Dussen off Rabada.

“In the position we are in, the more time that is taken out of the game is probably more in our favour,” Maharaj said after rain brought South Africa some badly needed respite.

“But it also puts Australia in a position where they have to make a play from here on in.”

So far in this one-sided three-Test series, the Australians have amassed 1,303 runs for the loss of 26 wickets — at an average per wicket of 50.

South Africa have 644 runs for the loss of 40 wickets at 16.1.

The Australians won the opening Test by a six-wicket rout in Brisbane inside two days and then hammered the Proteas by an innings and 182 runs in Melbourne.

Apart from the pursuit of a series whitewash, Australia are trying to seal a place in the ICC World Test Championship final in London in June.

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SYDNEY: South Africa strike bowler Anrich Nortje claimed the key wickets of David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne on Wednesday to prise Australia’s grip on the third Test in Sydney as rain plagued the opening day.

Nortje was the Proteas’ star man as he removed Warner cheaply for 10 and late in the day denied Labuschagne (79) his 11th Test hundred.

As bad light and rain conspired to prematurely end the first day, Australia were 147 for two with Usman Khawaja, who averages 98 in Sydney Tests, unbeaten on 54 and Steven Smith yet to score.

Nortje got the big breakthrough with a ripper, taking the edge of Labuschagne’s bat to get him caught behind and end his 151-ball stay.

The pacer earlier struck in his second over of the day when he had Melbourne Test double-centurion Warner caught at slip by Marco Jansen for 10.

No sooner had Smith arrived at the wicket after Labuschagne’s dismissal than the players left the field for bad light for the final time.

It is the sixth bedevilled Sydney Test out of the past seven to be affected by rain.

There was controversy earlier in Labuschagne’s innings when on 70 he edged Jansen to Harmer at slip.

The on-field umpires referred the decision with a soft signal of out, only for third umpire Richard Kettleborough to rule that the ball had touched the ground between the fingers of Harmer.

Khawaja also survived a review straight after lunch on 25 as he reverse-swept Harmer and was given out leg before wicket, but replays showed the ball touching the glove.

The opening day was also marked by Matt Renshaw, recalled for his first Test for Australia since April 2018, returning a positive Covid-19 test after the toss was taken and the team composition confirmed.

But team officials said he would continue to play in the match with his symptoms only described as mild.

Renshaw was transferred to a separate dressing room from his teammates where he will prepare for the rest of the match, and spent most of play sitting away from the team runners near the Australian dug-out.

Skipper Pat Cummins won his fifth successive toss and decided to play an extra spinner with left-armer Ashton Agar, and Renshaw coming in to bolster the batting, squeezing out in-form paceman Scott Boland on a dry cracking Sydney Cricket Ground pitch.

South Africa did likewise, with off-spinner Harmer ousting Lungi Ngidi while Heinrich Klaasen replaced Theunis de Bruyn at number three.

Apart from a series clean sweep, Australia will be looking to lock in a place in the ICC World Test Championship final in London in June. The Proteas still have an outside chance but must first cause an upset in Sydney.

The Australians have already wrapped up the three-match series after hammering the Proteas by an innings and 182 runs in Melbourne following a six-wicket rout in the opener in Brisbane inside two days.

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